As the deadline for teams to sign long-term contracts with their franchised players arrived today, the NFLPA threatened to sue the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos for collusion in their negotiations with Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, respectively. Just a few short moments ago, Dez Bryant signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Cowboys, including $45 million in guaranteed money ($23 million of which is actually guaranteed). And just a few shorter moments ago, Adam Schefter reported (sans photographic proof, mind you) that Demaryius Thomas signed a nearly identical deal with the Broncos.
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Dez Bryant has signed his contract.(?"?:@nickeatman) pic.twitter.com/EGdSTMaerU
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) July 15, 2015
So, in the span of three minutes from when Dez Bryant's contract became official, Thomas got his contract, which is identical to Bryant's save for $1.5 million less in guaranteed money. Remarkable!Getting back to that whole collusion thing:Denver and Demaryius Thomas reach agreement on matching 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5M GTD, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2015
Now, sure, it's possible that the Broncos and Thomas had a handshake agreement in place that they would give him the same contract, minus some guarantees, and they were just waiting to see what the Cowboys' final numbers were. But that would require giving NFL owners the benefit of the doubt on whether or not they are shameless, money grubbing dirtbags, and who wants to do that? Especially when you consider that a recent report said, forget handshake agreements, the Broncos and Thomas hadn't negotiated in months.So, what's more likely: that the Broncos and Cowboys were chatting the whole time—we think we can get him to agree to this, see if he'll take this, etc.—or that the Broncos and Thomas, after not exchanging numbers in months, agreed to the identical deal within the span of three minutes?According to a source, Cowboys executive vice president/COO Stephen Jones told Bryant during a recent conversation that he'd had a conversation with Broncos GM John Elway about the negotiations, which the union believes would constitute a violation of the CBA's anti-collusion rules.